ginkgo - xiao x yn

Part 3: Medicine

"Good morning, Master."

It was another pretty ordinary day at Bubu Pharmacy. Nothing special, I've been here before. Every day, I come in, ready to do whatever Master Baizhu tells me to do, even if it is one of the most boring tasks that make me want to take a nap. Who am I kidding, I collect herbs every day. That always makes me want to take a nap.

"Ah! y/n. Good morning. Give me some time, I need to finish writing prescriptions." Master Baizhu seems to be in a good mood today, which was a good thing. When he is in a bad mood, his face gives off the vibes that one wrong move and he will grow a vine in your stomach.

That little white snake that he always carries around is still around his neck, just like normal. Although sleepy, the snake seemed to be watching Master write his prescriptions.

I know I'm not supposed to judge, but

That snake is able to talk.

Of course, it's no new news, but it always confounded me that the animal was able to give advice. I never questioned it, of course. Master Baizhu gave it a name, too. "Changsheng". What a pretty name. I sometimes get slightly jealous that Master Baizhu pays more attention to that little white snake than me. Also, the snake sometimes treats me like their child.

What is going on, in this world, do children inherit snakes or something?

I leaned back on a chair, crossing my arms and looking around the room. Nothing seemed unusual, however I could detect that something was slightly off.

"What herb do you want me to collect today, Master Baizhu?", I asked in a polite tone, my usual tone when talking to people.

With that statement, my master seemed to be slightly more awake, so did the snake, which let out an excited hiss. He finished up a few quick words he was writing, and stood up from his chair.

"About that! I've decided that you will be helping me prepare medicine for today, so no herb collecting. You will be turning a few different herbs into edible medicine today, under my strict supervision."

Of course I was excited. Adrenaline shot up my veins, but I kept calm. Nothing ticked off Master Baizhu more than overly energetic people. I said in an excited-but-not-too-energetic-but-still-interested-and-slightly-relieved voice, "That's exciting."

Master Baizhu smiled. "I'm glad you are looking forward to it. Well then, let's get started right away, no?"

He turned to fetch something out of one of his shelves, took out a brown parcel, and opened it. Inside were some dried flowers, beautifully preserved. It seemed frozen in time, almost as much of a wonder as when it was freshly picked.

I know, because I picked it. I was the one climbing the mountains to reach it.

"Qingxin." I responded with almost no hesitation at all. Years of herb picking had really trained me to memorize every single flower and plant I pull up from the ground. It certainly had the smell of Qingxin.

"Very good! It seems like you recognize the flower. Now, can you tell me what to do with this type of flower?

I froze. My thoughts and emotions were running, many of them arguing about the purpose of this flower. Hm. I've read it somewhere, somewhere... "Cough medicine..?" I responded with the best answer my thoughts would tell me. The answer didn't seem wrong, but it didn't seem right either. It was as if it was the best incorrect answer.

"Close! Not quite." Master seemed not at all disappointed at all, but actually looked quite satisfied. Maybe he was impressed by the fact that I knew even though he's never taught me anything about it before?